| Winning Eleven 9: Ubiquitous Evolution review |
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On paper, porting a much-loved series such as KCET's Winning Eleven to Sony's powerful little PSP seems to be quite the 'no lose' situation. It's such an adored title that the opportunity for fans to take the field whilst on the bus is surely one that quite a huge number of these fans would indulge. But how can such a hugely complicated title such as Winning Eleven 9 be ported to the tiny PSP?
The simple answer seems to be: by cutting out the most important part of the single-player experience. Just a short glimpse at the opening menu screen will reveal the full horror of what awaits - no Master League option. Though the lack of this particular mode seems to have been required to fit everything onto a UMD, it leaves single-player gaming time spent on friendlies and league tournaments (even the cup competitions have been cut). Therefore the long-term commitment of buying/selling players, and building up a talented squad of youngsters is completely and utterly removed, an option that a huge number of fans enjoyed.
With the single-player coming close to a write-off, at least in terms of long-term time investment, thankfully multiplayer options are just what anyone could have hoped for. Connecting to a fellow owner of the game is a breeze via the PSP's ever-impressive online structure, and what transpires is essentially the same hectic Winning Eleven gaming experience that everyone's sampled numerous times before. However it's not quite as smoothly enjoyable as the home console iterations.
Though managing to port such a complex title such as Winning Eleven 9 to the PSP has to be commended on a technical level, it's a sad fact that it doesn't really work to the same degree as the console versions. The small screen, combined with the relatively close-up view (those more used to the 'wide camera' view will be very disappointed indeed) leaves the player relying on the in-game radar far too frequently. Running into defenders that were just off-screen when tapping the shoulder button for a quick boost of speed can cause much unneeded frustration; something that could have been easily remedied with a slightly further zoomed-out viewpoint. With intricate dribbling practically unusable thanks to the camera, it's left to passing moves to progress up the field. When an entire method of play is made virtually impossible, it simply doesn't feel as close to true football as the console versions are famed for.
Though the technical capabilities of the PSP are obviously huge when compared to other handhelds on the market, a portable version of a complex footballing title still doesn't seem to fit too keenly. The limitations of the screen and the lack of control options on the PSP unfortunately combine to come close to completely dismantling what is still a somewhat enjoyable experience.
Despite the lack of the extra two shoulder buttons that exist on the PS2's DualShock 2, control has travelled across in quite an impressive manner. Though the lack of true analogue passing with a second analogue nub can grate at first, it only takes a few games to get accustomed to these slightly tweaked rules of control. Unfortunately the poor quality of the analogue nub is shown up with far too much regularity during a fast-paced football match, with the kind of skilful dribbling that most enjoy embarrassing opponents with becoming much more difficult. Even passing to the right player can be a frustrating experience. It's left then to the simple D-pad to pick up the pieces, and luckily enough it takes on the task most admirably.
But even these slight limitations, which merely require a tweak to your home console-style of football, don't deteriorate the gaming enjoyment as much as the crippling slowdown during set pieces. Though the most recent console versions of the Winning Eleven series have suffered from a touch of slowdown during particularly hectic action when the vast majority of the twenty-two players were onscreen at once, the slowdown suffered in this handheld port severely frustrates. The chance of scoring from corners and set pieces becomes severely hindered as the framerate begins to stutter and leaves you a step behind the play. Being in control of the player who finally puts an end to these goal mouth scrambles becomes quite a rare occurrence. Not impossible, but much more down to supreme luck rather than footballing skill.
Even the frequent loading screens can't help but leave you feeling frustrated, with some of the lengthiest loading times yet seen on the PSP. Getting to the initial menu screen can take a relatively lengthy period of time, which is never welcome in a handheld title. Even the wait between the ball going out of play, and the resulting dead ball situation being ready to be taken seems to have increased tenfold, again showing off the PSP's technical limitations.
Much praise indeed then has to be given by the bucketload to the developers once it's realised that despite the technical drawbacks and boundaries of the PSP's control system and screen, enjoyment is still very much a major part of Winning Eleven 9 Ubiquitous Evolution. The same thrill of a well-worked passing move dismantling the English back four that's been abundant in each and every iteration of the series still remains. Placing a shot into the top corner from 30 yards will still bring those whoops of joy that have been in existence in every football game since way back when.
It's a damn shame that the few technical drawbacks of the PSP iteration significantly hinder the opportunity to gain just as much enjoyment from this version as from the sublime PS2 version. While nothing completely cripples WE9:UE from an enjoyment perspective, cumulatively the faults do significantly detract from the overall experience. Whether or not the Winning Eleven series is truly suited to a handheld platform will be proven as the series continues, but this venture serves only as a (quite playable) missed opportunity.
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System: Sony PlayStation Portable
Genre: Sport
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Players: 1-8
Version: Japan
Reviewed: Jan 2006
Writer: Chris Pickering
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Pros:
- It's portable Winning Eleven
- It looks immensely close to the console iterations
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Cons:
- Anolgue stick control isnt as tight as could be hoped
- Horrendous slowdown
- Lack of Master League option
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